Reacher is hitching through the heat of West Texas and getting desperate for a ride. The last thing he's worried about is exactly who picks him up.

She's called Carmen. She's a good-looking young woman, she has a beautiful little girl...and she has married into the wrong family. They're called the Greers. They're a bitter and miserly clan, and they've made her life a living hell. Worse, her monster of a husband is soon due out of prison. So she needs protection, and she needs it now.

Lawyers can't help. Cops can't be trusted. So Reacher goes home with her to the lonely ranch where nothing is as it seems, and where evil swirls around them like dust in a storm. Within days, Carmen's husband is dead - and simmering secrets send Echo, Texas, up in flames.

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Publisher's Summary

Reacher is hitching through the heat of West Texas and getting desperate for a ride. The last thing he's worried about is exactly who picks him up. She's called Carmen. She's a good-looking young woman, she has a beautiful little girl...and she has married into the wrong family.

This was my third Jack Reacher book. The first two were great especially Killing Floor. It really got me into the Jack Reacher series. I didn't finish this one. If I was supposed to feel sorry for Carmen, I couldn't do it. Jack is a smart guy but he fell her story hook, line and sinker. Not like him in other the other books. He questions every thing. The book should have been over in the first two hours. Jack Reacher I've come to know in other books would have walked away.

Dick Hill is a great narrator of these stories and I'm glad Lee Child continues to use him. Love him as Reacher, but please never again have a grown man do a six year old girl's voice.

Yes, at some future point. I often reread books, and there's no reason not to relisten to an audible, especially when it is something I have enjoyed.I have been a fan of the Jack Reacher novels for several years. While I don’t recall which one I read first, I know I’d read several of the most recent ones before I decided to go back and read them all in chronological order. This particular one—Echo Burning—provided the answer to my “burning” question: why Did MP Jack Reacher end his military career? I won’t give that away in this review—I don’t want to spoil it for another who hasn’t had that question answered as yet. I’ll just say that as always, the plot is complex, the characters, though somewhat predictable, are interesting and believable. To sum it up, I find these novels to be “good reads,” and that’s what I look for in my leisure reading experience. By the way, this novel is my first experience with Audible/Kindle listening—the reader did a superb job in translating the written word into oral mode—voice, speech rhythm, diction, expression—all contributed to a very satisfactory experience. I’ve used recorded books for years as accompaniment to my exercise program, and as an antidote to insomnia—I enjoy the Audible experience more than dealing with a tape or CD player, especially during the night. I’ve learned that it is possible to attach a small speaker to the Kindle in place of my headphones when the volume isn’t quite as high as I’d like, and this will remedy my only, very slight, problem.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Echo Burning?

As you might expect, it was when I finally understood the reason behind Jack Reacher's resignation from the military, and his choice to live as a vagabond.

Have you listened to any of Dick Hill’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, this was my first Dick Hill performance as a reader on a recorded book. I thoroughly enjoyed his contribution and would look forward to hearing him read some book in the future.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I don't think so--it is a very long book, for one thing, and that would be beyond my ability to stay involved, to say nothing of awake. But I enjoy

Any additional comments?

I wish there way a way to download to 3G Kindle other than via my computer. Takes at least two hours this way, and I'm a bit spoiled by the speed with which the written version is downloaded to my Kindle. I plan to acquire a Kindle Fire at some point and hope that the download process is speedier.

This is basically one of those Clint Eastwood or Lone Ranger style stories, where a wandering hero meets a damsel in impossible distress. The hero is unbeatable, the damsel is pitiable, and the distress is distressing, so the elements are all there. Beyond that, it will probably depend on whether you like the writer's style or not.

The plot twists are wild and at times too convenient, at others too far-fetched. Lee Child tells the story with such an authority and such detail that you can believe the developments and actions if you let yourself. Jack Reacher, the hero, does things that stretch credulity, and probably break it if you look too closely, so if you are critical, you may want to walk past this one. If you like to be led through a good fantasy that you can sort of imagine happening, this is a good trip.

The story takes place in west Texas and follows a lot of stereotypes. I went back and forth on whether I thought Child had ever been to Pecos, and concluded he probably drove through it. He's got the big things right, but the little details seem rather generic, and the people not very convincing, for the most part. Stereotypical bigots without any nuance are good for an action story, but not for anything more complex.

The damsel is a mixed bag. The details of her history are intriguing, but other than that the character seems simplistic, not believable, even with the plot twists that emerge.

Overall, the story is well told, well written, and fun enough. Better than a lot of stuff in the serial action/detective genres, but not transcendent of the genre. I liked "The Killing Floor" better.

I agree with the concensus on the reader. Great with Reacher's voice, offensive on the female characters. He bleeds the depth out of female characters with too little to begin with, and with one in particular he makes her a joke. Weakest aspect of the story.

Child exaggerates this novel's characters to the point where they're not at all believable. The plot is the usual formula, and utterly predictable.

AUDIO: With the men, Hill isn't that bad, but he pulverizes the women. With the women whom Child portrays as strong, competent and smart, Hill makes them weak, whiney, and querulous. He thus destroys what little sense the plot might otherwise have made.

I am a big fan of Reacher, and Dick Hill as a narrator. But this book was very annoying. The two main women characters whined. Reacher would say something, and they would ignore what he said and just whine. The story was, as usual, compelling. I just wasn't crazy about the women characters and their inability to listen.

I usually don't have a problem with getting through a book but this was tough. The Carmen character was so annoying that it was difficult to just listen to her and the narration made things work. Dick Hill's impersonation of female characters really grates on you. Both Carmen and her daughter always come across as whining and weak. Within a few hours of listening to their voices you really just want to turn off the book to end the misery.

This book started off good. The story was interesting and the narration was great, but about 2/3 of the way thru the book I became so annoyed as Jack Reacher slowly turned into a clarvoyant superman. It just became ridiculous! I had a very hard time finishing it. I'd recommend another book instead of this one.

Well written story. Good production. Dick Hill is a great narrator but he should not agree to do women voices or children. You are too male to do women, I have listen to him on other books Mr. Hill narrated they had a woman do their part. It worked much better. Mr. Hill I really wish you wouldn't sigh in the mics so much. But maybe I will learn not to hear it. Lee Childs wrote an interesting intriguing story. I truly enjoyed. Listener if you can get passed the things critized you can enjoy a well written book. I am glad I bought this book. Lee Childs will be a writer I look for again.

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